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@mespilus
For newcomers to the thread,
OCGW is Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp.
The little critter lays her live young in the leaf axils or buds of Sweet Chestnut, severely reducing the amount of pollen and nectar produced, which affects both farmed and wild bees and other nectarphilic species, and can lead to the death of both mature trees and sweet chestnut coppice.
I’ve since re-visited MBW and every shoot of sweet chestnut I could see has evidence of at least one, if not a dozen galls.
I asked if there were better definition maps of sightings/reports for both north west London and Greater London. Luckily there are and the blue text indicates links to the pdf files. As of March 2020 we, (the NNR), were pretty much surrounded!
Currently there are too many variables, (including wind speed and wind direction) to predict the spread of OCGW in the UK, but on the Continent where it has been a serious pest of sweet chestnut for far longer the best estimate is 6-12 km per year.
Forest Research were unable to confirm the person or department within DEFRA that is considering the release of the OCGW predator Torymus sinensis Kamija.
I’ll see if I can find out whether MBW would be a suitable release site.